Georgian Wine

Wine has been produced in what is now called the Republic of Georgia for thousands of years, making it one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world. It’s situated between the Caucus Mountains and the Black Sea, bordering Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Many native grape varieties existed in the countrysides, and were eventually used for wine. 9000 year-old archeological findings indicate wine production, and the Georgian word “ghvino” is said to be the root of “vin,” “vino,” and eventually, “wine.”

Wine production continued through the centuries as empires grew and nations claimed territories. In the 6th century, the Ikhalto monastery and academy was founded near Telavi. With wine production playing an important role in the newly-founded Christian religion, Ikhalto became an important center of viticulture and even established a wine academy. Georgia became a largely Christian nation and as a result, was mostly left alone Read more »

Wine has been produced in what is now called the Republic of Georgia for thousands of years, making it one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world. It’s situated between the Caucus Mountains and the Black Sea, bordering Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Many native grape varieties existed in the countrysides, and were eventually used for wine. 9000 year-old archeological findings indicate wine production, and the Georgian word “ghvino” is said to be the root of “vin,” “vino,” and eventually, “wine.”

Wine production continued through the centuries as empires grew and nations claimed territories. In the 6th century, the Ikhalto monastery and academy was founded near Telavi. With wine production playing an important role in the newly-founded Christian religion, Ikhalto became an important center of viticulture and even established a wine academy. Georgia became a largely Christian nation and as a result, was mostly left alone during the Crusades. During the Ottoman occupation starting in the 11th century, most of this part of the world was sent into prohibition according according to Muslim law. But Georgia was able to continue most of its wine production because the rules made allowances for Christian sacramental wines.

Georgian wines abounded until the worldwide Phylloxera epidemic, after which it languished for a couple of decades. When it became part of the USSR, wine-making efforts were enforced to supply Russia and the other soviet nations. Though Georgia officially gained independence in 1991, relations with Russia have been contentious. In 2006, Russia enforced a lasting ban on Georgian wines, which has had a profound effect on the industry. New export markets are continuing to be explored, especially in the US and UK. Georgia already suffered from a poor economy, and commercial wine is often considered too pricey for local consumers, who often prefer to make their own wine. This “backyard wine” is produced by crushing every part of the grape, seeds, skins, and all, and placing this into large earthenware amphorae called “kevevri,” then buried up to the neck in soil and sealed with wax. Nothing else is added; the fermentation occurs between the wild grape yeasts and temperatures of the earth the kevevri are buried in. They are unsealed and consumed months later.

Despite marketing obstacles, wine is still produced in almost the entire republic, save the areas in the remote highlands. It is broken down into five main viticultural zones: Kakheti, Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkumi, and the Black Sea Coast.

The leading grapes in Georgia are the white Rkatsiteli and red Saperavi. Other popular indigenous grapes are Kakhuri, Alexandrouli, Aladsturi, Keduretuli, Ojaleshi, and Usakhelouri for reds. Whites consist mainly of Chinuri, Mtsvani, Tetra, Tsitska, and Tsolikouri. Popular international varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc. are also cultivated in Georgia, often blended with local grapes.

The country of Georgia has produced wine for more than 8,000 vintages. While spending a recent week there it was easy to see how deeply embedded wine is in the nation’s culture. More than 500 native grape varieties exist and their production methodolog...

The link between wine and travel has intensified over the last few years – largely owing to the world’s growing thirst for wine. The United Nations World Tourism Organization held their first Global Conference on Wine Tourism in Georgia in 2016 with fi...

According to the Wine Institute, in 2015, over 28 million liters of wine were produced by sixty-three different wine producing countries. There are currently 195 different countries in our world, which means that a whopping one third of it is making wi...

Deeply coloured, dry with an acidic bite on the finish but balanced by the weighty palate and honey-dipped tropical fruit flavours. An engaging aroma. Rather nice actually
http://www.spittoon.biz/orovela_cuvee_chandrebi_2007.html

Well, the main problem with the wine from Georgia is that most of it was horrible, sweet wine. Think Manischewitz or something equally bad. It's kind of like Bikaver or Bull's Blood from Hungary. Recently they've been working on their wines but the tradition was sweet red and that's still what's sold all over Brighton Beach in Brooklyn where the...
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Texas wines are comical. Had a thread or two several years ago where we ... ... Snooth walkabout offline in Georgia, JD. ;-)I'm assuming you mean the northernmost parts of Patagonia, RCKR. Not where I went climbing further south. But if Brazil's listed, why not?I would be very surprised if the person who compiled that list of regions had been...
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Niagara Bench, Dalmations (Croatia), Georgia (a reasonable bet they've cultivated grapes longer there than anywhere on earth), and Tasmania all have wines worth tasting, and have been on the radar for quite awhile. Others are just listomania linkbait...
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Here's the story by Vine Pair, which has made for some decent reads from my ... the aforementioned upstarts.Georgia is getting a lot of buzz lately, from some people I respect as well. May be the most worthy of exploratio
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Hey Charine, Thanks for the tips on the lesser known regions. I'm ... ... Balkans and moving out to Georgia, Moldova, Bulgaria and maybe Armenia too. Would love to learn more about your experiences and explorations. Where are you base
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